The Return of Ratigan
by DiscordantPrincess
Summary: Title pretty much sums it up. Ratigan comes back after years of hiding. Rating may change later.
1. The Discovery

**Hola, mis amigos! I know it's been a while since I've written a GMD story, so bear with me here. I may be a bit rusty. Hopefully you will all enjoy! Read on, MacDuff!**

London 1899

"Mrs. Judson, I told you, I'm fine. I can fold the towels no problem."

It was a quiet night at 221 ½ Baker Street. The great detective Basil Benson, aka Basil of Baker Street, was out on a case with his sleuthing partner Dr. David Q Dawson. As they were out, Basil's wife Danielle was being coddled by Mrs. Deirdre Judson, the couple's landlady and housekeeper.

"I know, dearie, I know, but in your condition, you need to rest up and take care of yourself," the elder mouse told the young one.

"Mrs. J, I'm pregnant. I'm not dying of the Plague," Danielle reminded her.

"Just want to take care of you, lovey." Mrs. Judson helped Danielle sit on an armchair and patted her head. "You rest here, I'll go fetch you a pot of tea and some fresh cheese crumpets." She went into the other room, leaving the expectant mother alone.

Danielle smiled and shook her head as she rubbed the slight bulge in her stomach. "You certainly have her waiting on me hand and foot, don't you, little one?" She smiled as she felt a sort of warmth emanating from her belly, as if the baby growing inside her was telling her how much it appreciated how well she was caring for it.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Danielle prepared to get up and answer it, but Mrs. Judson hurried in. "Don't move a muscle, Danielle dear. I'll answer it." Danielle nodded and giggled. She craned her neck to see who was at the door, but all she could see was the landlady talking to the open door. "Good evening, sir. May I help you?" No answer. "Um…well, would you care to come in and wait for Mr. Basil?" The mysterious man must have nodded yes, because the next thing Danielle knew, Mrs. Judson was leading a tall, muscular figure into the room. The man was wearing a black hooded cloak, so his face was not seen. All Danielle could make out was a sharp nose, a pair of white gloved hands, a pair of black shoes and a scaly rat tail.

"Why don't you have a seat, sir?" Mrs. Judson suggested. The mysterious guest nodded and sat down across from Danielle. "I'm sure Basil will be back soon. He'll help you with…whatever issue you are having." The landlady chuckled nervously and left the room.

Danielle looked over at the guest, who had still not removed his hood to show his face. "Um, hello, sir. I'm Danielle, Basil's wife." The guest responded by nodding a greeting. "My, you are a tall, well-built fellow, aren't you? By any chance, are you at least part rat?" The guest nodded. "Ah, well, that's nothing to be ashamed of. I'm one-fourth rat myself. My father was half rat." She sighed. "My poor father…he died a few years ago. He was the last family I had…up until I married Basil, that is." Danielle chuckled. "You've probably heard of my father. Professor Padraic Ratigan. I know it seems odd to marry your father's greatest enemy, but no one tells you who to fall in love with, right? And besides, he once told me himself that a father's first responsibility is to make sure his children are happy…and I'm VERY happy with Basil."

The guest sighed wistfully. "Are you all right, sir?" Danielle asked. "You…seem upset about something."

"I'm…just so proud of you," the mysterious guest replied.

Danielle's eyes widened. That voice…it couldn't be. Could it? The guest sighed and removed the hood from his face, revealing…

"Daddy?"

**Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!**

**So it looks like Ratigan survived his little fall from Big Ben. How did he do it? Next chapter will explain things.**

**LOL, I apologize if I made Mrs. Judson seem a bit overbearing and coddling, but I could see her being a nurturer, especially to her beloved foster daughter-in-law who's having a baby. Yeah, I always had Mrs. J think of Basil as a son of sorts...maybe I'm just weird. **

**Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon for the next chap!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess. **


	2. Father and Daughter

**New chapter, yay!**

Danielle blinked with confusion. She didn't move a muscle. She was in shock.

Her father was alive.

And he was sitting right across from her.

"Daddy? Is…Is it really you?" Danielle asked as she finally got up and sat next to him.

Ratigan smiled. "Yes, baby, it's really me. Oh my precious girl…"

SMACK! Danielle slapped her father across the face. Ratigan grimaced as he rubbed his cheek where she'd hit him. "Not EXACTLY the reaction I was expecting, but I suppose it's fitting."

"Well what reaction WERE you expecting, huh?" Danielle asked hysterically. "Were you expecting me to run into your arms and cry like a lost little girl? Do you have any idea how much I've missed you this whole time?"

"Not a fraction as much as I've missed you, I'll bet," Ratigan replied.

Danielle frowned. "Oh, don't even TRY that little game! For two years I thought you were dead! TWO YEARS! You LIED to me for two years! Why didn't you come back sooner? Why couldn't you let me know that you were alive two years ago?"

Ratigan frowned sadly. "You're right, I did lie to you for those two years, and I do apologize for it." He held her paw in his. "But Danielle, I did have a reason."

"Oh? And what reason would THAT be?"

"I wanted to make sure that it was safe for me to reveal myself to you," Ratigan explained. "Not for myself…I could care less about what happened to me. But you…I wanted to make sure it was safe for you."

Danielle looked at her father with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, suppose the wrong people found out that I was still alive. And suppose they found out that you knew that I was still alive. If anyone knew that you were keeping the fact that London's greatest scourge was still alive secret…let's just say that it makes me sick to my stomach to think what they'd do to you." Ratigan shuddered. "But after two years…no one's going to still be looking for me if they think I've been dead for two years, now are they?"

Danielle sighed. "I suppose not…but still, you should've written or something! I really did miss you, Daddy." She started to cry and buried her face into her father's chest.

Ratigan gently wrapped his arms around his daughter, stroking her hair just like he did when she was little and upset. "Oh my little princess, I've missed you so much as well."

"But…but how did you even survive?" Danielle asked. "You fell into the Thames!"

"Yes, and then I swam like hell to the nearest bridge to hide under it before I could drown," Ratigan explained. "By the time I got to the shore I was exhausted, so I passed out for about four days. When I finally woke up, I was in pain and starving. I hid out underground again, but this time I had to be all alone."

"The body that they found on the banks of the river?"

"A mechanical decoy that I had Mr. Flaversham build just in case the Jubilee heist didn't go quite as planned. I figured that all of London would be so thrilled at the prospect of the nefarious Professor Ratigan finally being dead that they wouldn't bother to check to see if it was a real body or not…a huge gamble on my part, but it seems to have worked."

"And your ghost that I saw back when I was about to marry Wallace? Was that you?"

Ratigan chuckled. "No, that wasn't me…that must have been a figment of your imagination." He frowned as he hugged his daughter. "If only that bastard were still alive, so I could tear him apart with my bare hands for what he tried to do to you!"

Danielle sighed as she rested her head against her father's chest. "Oh Daddy…do you hate me for marrying Basil?"

"HATE you? I could never hate you! If Basil makes you happy, then he's perfectly fine in my book. It's like you just said that I said; a father's first priority is making sure his daughter is happy."

Danielle giggled. "Basil makes me VERY happy."

"I'm glad…and I see that you two are starting to add to your family as well." Ratigan beamed with pride as he gently rested his hand on the tiny bump in his daughter's abdomen. "My first grandchild…I can hardly believe it."

Danielle giggled as her father gently stroked her baby bump. "I know, I can hardly believe it myself." She smiled sweetly. "I hope it's a boy. That way, I can name him Padraic after you."

Ratigan blinked in amazement. "You would still do that? Even after all that I did?"

"I made you a promise when I was small that I would name my firstborn son after you," Danielle told him. "And Danielle Mary Ratigan Benson does NOT break her promises."

Ratigan beamed, tears filling up his eyes. "Oh Danielle…you have no idea what that means to me." He embraced her tightly. "My little baby."

"Daddy," Danielle sighed, hugging him back.

Suddenly, the father and daughter heard a loud growling sound. Ratigan looked down at his stomach and grinned sheepishly. "Heh heh, sorry. It's been a while since I last ate, and I'm feeling a bit peckish."

Danielle smiled as she held up one of the crumpets that Mrs. Judson had left for them. "Here, this will help."

Ratigan smiled and ate the crumpet. "Mmm, delicious."

Danielle smirked. "A lot better than the first batch of crumpets I baked for you, huh?"

"Sweetheart, you were five. You were still learning how to cook. It's understandable that your first batch of crumpets would turn out to be…less than perfect." Ratigan flinched. "Though I do seem to recall being bedridden for about a week with horrible stomach pains."

Danielle giggled. "You always were so gentlemanly about eating the food that I made you...I always appreciated that."

"Hey, making you happy was worth ANY gastrointestinal discomfort I went through." Ratigan groaned a little as he rubbed his tummy. "And I went through quite a lot of it."

That made both father and daughter laugh. After all the time apart, they were finally together again.

**Too bad things won't go so smoothly when Basil learns that Ratigan's still alive, heh heh heh...yeah I'm evil. **

**I apologize if I made Danielle seem a bit overly bitchy here, but admit it, y'all, if your dad who you thought had been dead for years showed up at your door, you'd be a bit miffed too.**

**Hope to see y'all soon for the next chapter!**

**All my best, DiscordantPrincess.**


End file.
